Bertrand Bio is a German meal replacement company that believes organic does not equal expensive. In fact, they have one of the cheapest and best organic shakes in the industry. Not only one, but 3: Classic, Vegan and Active. Let’s learn all there is about it in this Bertrand review.

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Bertrand has a really good nutritional base (besides the high fat profile that I am personally not very fond of). However, when it comes to user experience, they are lacking a little bit. The shop is confusing, you are limited to the amount of bags you can buy and there is no subscription to benefit from. It is a company with good foundations (price and product) that can reach higher heights.

What We Like

1.Great price for an organic product. The cheapest price for a Bertrand shake is €1.61/400kcal; which is significantly less expensive the biggest organic competitor Ambronite.

2.  Having different variations, while all being organic. Not also that, but the customer can choose between Classic (non-vegan), Vegan and Active version. The variation is great, but also the fact that you have a non-vegan option, since often vegan and organic go together when they do not really have too.

3. Bertrand’s strongest points in the nutritional aspect are the high omega-3 content and the ORAC (antioxidant properties) values. The shakes are also high in micronutrients, making them very nutritious.

4. No artificial additives. Even the vitamins and minerals are all naturally occurring from the ingredients. Pretty impressive feat.

5. You can tryout Bertrand for only €6 from anywhere in the world. Yes, €6 for a meal is expensive, but considering you get it shipped free worldwide, it is the perfect way to check if you like it.

6. Shipping terms. Surprisingly, Bertrand has really good international shipping terms, with shipments to the US only costing $40 and OCE €25. Not many brands can match this international coverage.

What We Dislike

1.The protein content on Bertrand Classic and Bertrand Vegan is really low. Disclaimer, it is within the EFSA recommended. However, you will only get 60g from 2,200kcal. In the case of Vegan, rice protein is the main source, which lacks in the amino acid lysine. Thus, it will be likely that you will be short in this essential amino acid.

2. Lack of subscription. In other reviews I have stated the importance of subscriptions for both the company and the customer. For the second, subscriptions give comodity, a way to interact with the company and often multiple benefits, such as, discounts and rewards.

3. Active version is much more expensive. Having to pay an extra €1.43 per bag is quite a difference. Yes, you get some more protein (the most expensive component) and some more calories (~100kcal); but it is nonetheless a big disparity.

4. The shop or the page where you select you meals is confusing. The interface of the shop is counterintuitive and not very user friendly.

5. Limited to 9, 21 or 90 meals. What if you want 40? Or 50? You will need to make some maths and trickeries to adjust the order size to what you actually need.

Improvements

1.I would like to see something different from a macronutrient point of view from Bertrand. A shake that is not that high in fat. For me, as a customer, this is a big deterrent. However, I understand that keeping things simple is key in business.

2. Subscription program. For the regular customers, so they do not have to manually do the orders everytime and can get some side rewards.

3. Bigger bags that will contain more than 3 meals. Something you can dosage more easily and will allow you to have more flexibility.

4. Improved user interface in the shop and the ability to be able to purchase any set of bags. I have stared at the shop multiple times, and I keep getting confused of how many bags I am allowed to buy.

5. First organic Keto shake in Europe. I feel that with the high-fat profile Bertrand could pull of the first organic keto shake in Europe. However, I would not be very hopeful, since developing new products is expensive and risky.

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Bertrand is a brand focused in organic, whole food, no additives meal replacements. They currently have a lineup of three powder based products; a classic version offering 2221kcal, a vegan version packing 2119kcal and the active version with 2500kcal. All three come in bags with a full day’s worth of meals (3 servings). Bertrand is a great way to start with some of the healthiest meal replacements.

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Brief Bertrand Classic Review

Bertrand classic is an organic meal replacement, made from real food with no artificial additives (including vitamins). Each bag has 500g of Bertrand, enough for 3 meals or one day worth of food.

As priorly mentioned, a Bertrand Classic bag will offer you 2221kcal per bag, which is 10% more than the standard 2,000kcal used as a reference. You should make sure you are not taking more calories than you need.

Besides that, the classic version offers a high fat profile, mostly sacrificing protein for it. A full days worth of Bertrand will only give you 60g of protein, which will be really low for many. Otherwise, you will get the full nutrition that you need.

All Bertrand products are available in a four flavours: Nature, Bilberry, Vanilla and Baked Apple and Cinnamon.

However, I do not think Bertrand is for customers that care that much about taste, but the quality of ingredients. The problem with organic, food sourced meal replacement tends to be the price (Ample, Ambronite). Bertrand is cheaper than these two brands, especially if you purchase 90 packs (€2.98/meal, €269).

Ingredients (Version 2.6): gluten free whole grain oats, canola oil powder (carrier: maltodextrin), powdered milk, ground almonds, ground flaxseed, agave powder, ground sunflower seed, ground walnut, locust bean gum, sea buckthorn powder, rock salt, coconut powder, nutritional yeast, algae powder (porphyra), mushroom powder (shiitake), algae powder (chlorella), guava extract, lemon peel extract, basil leaf extract.

Brief Bertrand Vegan Review

In many senses Bertrand Vegan is quite similar to the classic version; quite heavy on fats, not much protein, only available in a single flavour and same price (€4.89/meal when ordered 9 bags). However, it is nutritionally slightly different:

Nonetheless, I would not say this differences are significant. Yes, you will end up having around 100kcal less, but I would not choose one over the other because of that. The only factor would be if you are a vegan.

In fact, the dairy-free shake has less Vit B12 and even Bertrand recommends supplementing your vitamin B12. They state that the amount of B12 is dependent on each particular ingredient, hence it will vary slightly from bag to bag.

If not Vegan I would stick with the classic version.

Ingredients (Version 1.2): gluten free whole grain oats, canola oil powder (carrier: maltodextrin), almond, ground flaxseed, agave powder, rice protein, ground sunflower seed, ground walnut, sea buckthorn powder, locust bean gum, coconut powder, algae powder (porphyra), rock salt, natural flavor, nutritional yeast, algae powder (lithothamnium calcareum), mushroom powder (agaricus bisporus), algae powder (chlorella), guava extract, lemon peel extract, basil leaf extract.

Brief Bertrand Active Review

This is the truly different offer. For once, it is based on a 2500kcal diet (offers more energy per meal). Not only it has more energy, but also extra protein derived from milk. In fact, it alters the nutritional profile significantly:

Definitely your choice of Bertrand if you are a more sporty people.

Ingredients (Version 1.1): gluten free whole grain oats, canola oil powder (carrier:maltodextrin), milk protein powder, powdered milk, ground almond, ground flaxseed, agave powder, ground sunflower seed, ground walnut, locust bean gum, sea buckthorn powder, rock salt, coconut powder, nutritional yeast, algae powder (porphyra), mushroom powder (agaricus bisporus).

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Bertrand offers gluten free, non-gmo, organic meal replacements without any additives. As they state:

Whoever wishes to take nourishment with a high certainty of getting all essential nutrients is much better advised with a mix of natural ingredients, than with a powder which is merely plied with the vitamins we know.

They believe that nutrition is a science, which has many gap in knowledge and as such, it is better to use real foods to create meal replacements and not synthetic ingredients that might be missing essential components we do not know about.

 

Energy

Bertrand shakes are quite bit, energy wise. Similarly to Queal, Runtime or Satislent, they divide their servings in a third of your daily needs.

As it can be observed, all Bertrand products are really high in fats and low in protein. Even the active version offers only 21% of its energy from protein, which is lower than other sport variations (Queal Athletic, Plenny Shake Active).

In fact the amount of energy from fats exceeds the maximum recommended, 35%, by the USDA guidelines and EFSA guidelines. High fat low carb shakes are very common in the industry, though; for instance, Soylent, Saturo or Jake.

Fats

Per serving:

Bertrand uses a very wide variety of fat sources, including, organic canola oil, organic flaxseed, organic sunflower seeds and nuts (organic almonds and walnuts). The first two are the main ingredients, providing most of the omega-3 (in form of alpha-linolenic acid) and omega-6.

Regarding these fatt acids the ratios are within the recommended 1/1-1/4 omega-3 to -6.

Carbs

Per serving:

Bertrand’s main source of carbohydrate are gluten free oats. This are the  golden standard, due to their complex starchy nature; which makes them slower to digest and have lower impact in your blood stream.

Besides, they are rich in many macronutrients, antioxidants, protein and fiber (including soluble fiber beta-glucan).

Bottom-line, oats are the best carbohydrate source in the meal replacement industry currently, even if many brands do not use them because taste, texture and solubility issues.

Where does the sugar come from?

For Bertrand Classic and Bertrand Active, part of comes from powdered milk, aka lactose. Thus is not added sugar, but naturally occurring within the ingredients.

Bertrand Vegan does not use any powdered milk, but does contain some fruit sources, such as, sea buckthorn berries, which contain fructose.

Eitherway, sugar levels are fairly low and as mentioned before they are not added sugars.

Protein

Per serving:

Not much protein, even in the Active version

For Classic and Vegan only 11% of the total energy comes from protein, or ~11g per 400kcal. This is one of the lowest figures for any meal replacements in the market.

Even though, Bertrand Active packs double the amount of protein than the other two, it is in the lower end when comparing to other “active” or sports versions:

	per 100g	per 400kcal
Jake Sports	23g	21g
Queal Athletic	26.8g	25.8g
Shake2day Sports	20.4g	19.8g
Plenny Shake Active	27g	27.7g
Bertrand Active	21.3g	20g

Enough for sedentary people

In any case, it is true that both Bertrand Classic and Vegan will provide you enough protein according to EU and WHO regulations. However, it is worth noting that this regulations are to prevent muscle atrophy, so if you are a more active person, I would strongly recommend having more protein.

• People who exercise are recommended higher intakes up to 1.6g/kg (Morton et al., 2017; Stokes et al., 2018).
• Higher protein intakes have been shown benefitial in older people (40+) in health, muscle mass and strength maintainance.
• There is a lot of discussion regarding the set protein RDA (Volpi et al., 2013; Deer et al., 2015; Wolfe et al., 2017).

Milk Protein for Classic and Active; Rice Protein and Oats for Vegan

Bertrand Classic uses powdered milk as protein source. To this, they add milk protein powder to the Active version. This is a good protein source, consisting in casein (slow absorbing protein) and whey (a fast absorbing protein).

While it is more common to use whey protein concentrates/isolates, milk protein has usually a good balance and can produce similar positive effects in muscle growth.

Regarding the choice for Vegan, rice protein is a common source; but that lacks of lysine (an essential amino acid). In fact, it is often paired with pea protein to fix this issue. Oats, on the other hand, are also low in lysine; thus the Vegan mix is likely short in this essential amino acid.

Micronutrients

Bertrand offersat least 100% of 24 vitamins and minerals per daily dose. Thus, each serving will cover ~35% for each micronutrient.

There are certain micronutrients, such as, manganese (440%), phosphorus (254%), copper (219%)… will be in “excess”. However, this is by no mean harmful of bad, but it is due to ingredients like oats being rich in these nutrients. In fact, those values do not exceed the upper limits set for those minerals either.

Antioxidants

ORAC or oxygen radical absorbance capacity is a type of measurement to analyse the effectiveness of food to erradicate free radicals. These radicals can be benefitial, but after a threshold they are able to induce long term damage.

Bertrand has performed ORAC analysis in all 3 products, showing high values (or high antioxidant capacity, nullifying free radicals).

Allergens

For Bertrand Classic and Active the allergens include milk, almond and walnuts.

In the case of Bertrand Vegan, it includes almonds and walnuts.

Sweeteners

Bertrand does not use any artificial sweeteners in their shakes.

Nutrition Summary

Here is a rundown of the wall of text written above:

• Bertrand shakes use organic ingredients.
• All Bertrand products are really low in protein content, particularly Bertrand Classic and Vegan with only 11% of the energy coming from it.
• Servings are fairly big; ~700kcal for Classic and Vegan; and 833kcal for Active.
• Carb source is gluten free oats.
• For the vegan the protein source is rice (and a little oats), which makes the shake low in lysine (but above RI). Classic uses milk powder as source, and Active has extra milk protein powder.
• Bertrand is rich in micronutrients and antioxidants.
• Bertrand shakes contain no artificial sweeteners.

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Bertrand is a small German company focused on delivering high quality organic products. A market that is often characterised by the highly priced products (Ambronite, Ample); and Bertrand aims to change this.

Bertrand was founded by Tobias Stöber in 2015 and launched in April as the “worlds first organic-certified full nutrition powder”. Later that year they launched the vegan version.

Organic Yes, but Why?

In an industry filled with shakes with synthetic added components (like vitamins and minerals), Bertrand chooses to use real food. Why? Because they believe that there are areas in nutrition not discovered yet, nutrients that might exist in food but that are unknown to us.

So, until we know all there is about which nutrients we really need, Bertrand prefers to add real food instead of synthetic additives.

Packaging

All Bertrand drinks come in packages of 3 meals (or one day’s worth of nutrition). There are no other packaging options, even when you opt for bigger purchases of up to 90 full meals (30 bags).

Each bag will weight around 500g.

The packaging is a mix of cardboard (outside) and insulation layers on the inside (plastic, aluminum); therefore is not recyclable unless it is torn apart.

Improvements: Bigger Bags?

While the daily dose bags are favoured by many brands (Queal, Jimmyjoy); I find them to be not as useful as they should, since I do not then to consume all my meals from powder food. I often find bigger bags (e.g. Huel) more useful for storage purposes and to consume it at home.

It would be interesting to see iterations of recyclable bags too, but this is a task that no one has perfected in the industry, yet.

Pricing & Subscription

Bertrand offers their products in 3 bundles:

• 9 meals (3 bags) for €44 =  €4.89/meal  =  €2.77/400kcal
• 21 meals (7 bags) for €79 =  €3.76/meal  =  €2.04/400kcal
• 90 meals (30 bags) for €269 =  €2.98/meal =  €1.61/400kcal

It is worth noting however, that Bertrand Active is more expensive; €1.43 per bag more.

How does the price compare to other organic brands?

Ambronite and Ample are the “premium” organic, whole food brands. Bertrand and Anapur are less well-known alternatives from EU. As you can observed in the picture, Bertrand has the cheapest offer (€1.61 vs €1.65 from Anapur); but more importantly is significantly cheaper than Ambronite and Ample.

Note: there are more organic brands (Feed. Organic, Ka’chava, Vitaline*…).

Subscription

On the most recent visual update (Sep, 2019), Bertrand implemented a subscription system. They offer a 5% discount, which is below industry average.

Nevertheless, to this you can add bulk discounts up to 35%!

Shipping and Returns

Note: there have been changes recently in the international shipping; and for instance, shipping to the US now costs €40.

More good news in this regard. Bertrand offers free shipping within the EU for all the orders. While it is true that the minimum order is €44, this is still a very good deal.

Not only that, but they have very reasonable fees for worldwide shipping, which includes US ($10-20), CAN ($10-$20) or AUS ($AUD 40).

Return Policy

Bertrand does not seem to have a clear return policy in terms of when or how they will accept the returned products. They do state that the customer will have to pay for the shipping to return it; thus, it is likely that they will acept it.

For better information, you will have to contact them directly.

The Shelf Life

Bertrand products have “best before” dates set in their bags. These should be around Shipping Bertrand, and it does not mean the product is not safe to consume after; but the date at which it reaches the peak.

After that date, Bertrand cannot simply guarantee that their products will keep all the nutrients.

Store in a cool, dry place and avoid sunlight.

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Due to the fact that Bertrand is a company focused on organic meal replacement shakes, I will compare it to other companies with similar focus. However, there are more organic meal replacements that the mentioned below (Feed. Organic, Ka’chava,…):

• Ambronite. The other big European organic brand.
• Ample. US “superfood” with a powder in the bottle model.
• Vitaline. Some of the best organic shakes in Europe, with a wider array of flavours.

Bertrand vs Ambronite

Ambronite is the premium Finnish brand that delivers top organic shakes worldwide.

Price, Product Range and Flavours

Ambronite has focused only in producing one powdered meal (Ambronite v5) and even if it is available in 4 flavours currently (Original, Ginger & Apple, Banana, and Berries); it does not match the offering by Bertrand.

The German brand has both more flavours and more products

Nutrition:

It needs to be taken into account that the servings differ in size, thus most Bertrand Active numbers should appear higher.

Main Ingredients:

	Ambronite	Bertrand Active
Fats	Nuts, flaxseed	Canola oil, flaxseed, sunflower, nuts
Protein	Oat protein, almond, coconut	Milk protein powder
Carbs	Oats, fruits	Gluten Free oats

Ambronite is a vegan shake, whereas Bertrand Active is not. You can choose Bertrand Vegan, but it comes with much less protein than Ambronite (half the amount).

Ambronite is significantly higher in sugars than Bertrand Active, mainly due to relying on fruits (like apple and berries) as carbohydrate source, which provide fructose (sugar).

It is, also, higher in fiber, but both shakes do provide you more than the recommended intake.

One of the biggest differences between the two shakes is the protein content and source. Bertrand Active uses milk derived protein vs the combination of plant-based protein sources. The latter are often inferior due to deficiencies in some essential amino acids (however, Ambronite should provide you enough). Thus, even if quantity wise is short I like Bertrand’s source better.

Regarding fats, both provide enough omega-3 and have good balance of the different fatty acids.

Availability, Shipping:

Both companies offer worldwide shipping. Ambronite offers free shipping in orders above €150, whereas shipping is free within EU for Bertrand. In the US, you are charged $25 for shipping by the German brand; whereas you can get it for free with Ambronite (over $150).

Conclusion

Bertrand vs Ample

Ample is the US superfood brand; looking to create convenient quality meals from real food.

Price, Product Range and Flavours

This is mainly down to Bertrand being much more affordable, even when buying from the US. Ample’s three product line up is fairly impressive, considering they cater for 3 diverse groups of people.

However, they are only available in one flavour, too; vs Bertrand’s 4.

Nutrition

Ample is available in bottles of 400 and 600kcal, while Bertrand servings are higher than both.

Main Ingredients:

	Ample	Bertrand Classic
Fats	High oleic sunflower oil,madcamia nut oil	Canola oil, flaxseed, sunflower, nuts
Protein	Whey protein concentrate	Milk powder
Carbs	Whole grain oat powder	Gluten Free oats

This is based on Ample Original. For the individual facts please check the Ample review.

Starting with the source of carbohydrates, there is one interesting fact about Ample. The fact that they also add organic sweet potato powder. Ample, similarly to Bertrand does not provide with many carbs (particularly the Keto version). Sugars are lower in Ample, too; even if they add some honey and banana powder.

The amount of fiber is double of Bertrand’s too, which almost feels excessive.

In matters of protein, I think Ample has better source (actual whey concentrate) and more quantity that Bertrand (particularly in the non-active version). Ample V uses a blend of pea protein and rice protein (both organic).

Too Many Saturated Fats in Ample, Bertrand More Balanced

In regards to fat content, the “premium fat blend” from Ample includes some MCTs (which type does not say). It is a nice addition, but when you are delivering 75% of DV for saturated fats per serving; you must give the edge to Bertrand here. Particularly, with WHO recommending to swap excess saturated fats with MUFA and PUFA.

No Micronutrients < Much Micronutrients

One of the fatal flaws I discovered in my Ample review was the lack of micronutrients. They just have some iron, vit V, calcium and magnesium. Where are the other 20? That is why Bertrand will be a better source for your daily vitamins and minerals.

On the other hand, both brands have plenty of antioxidants, phytonutrients and overal positive extras for the body and gut health.

Availability, Shipping:

Ample is only available in the US, as opposed to Bertrand being available in both. Surely, Ample will deliver faster, though. Neither are available in shops.

Conclusion

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Who Is Bertrand for?

Bertrand is the ideal brand for those who care about ingredients being organic, but do not want to pay premium for it.

While Bertrand portrays itself as very outdoor oriented, I think Bertrand Classic and Vegan are better suited for very sedentary people due to the extremely low protein content.

Bertrand Active is a better fit for those looking for higher protein content, but still organic shakes.

Does It Taste Good?

The milky taste is certainly of my liking, a lot more than the soy taste that most RTDs have. Besides, all flavours are quite strong, which makes them feel almost like milkshakes. I think they do.

Will I Get All the Nutrients I Need?

All Bertrand products fit the recommended guidelines by USDA and EFSA. So, yes. Furthermore, you will get a lot of micronutrients with Bertrand.

However, Bertrands low protein profile might not suit the more active.

I Want to Buy It. How Much Will It Cost Me?

Bertrand shakes are one of the cheapest organic alternatives, starting at €2.77/400kcal (for 9 meals) and going as low as €1.61/400kcal (90 meals).

Wait a Moment, Is It Perfect?

No, the Classic and Vegan versions are too low in protein for my liking; plus the fat content is really high in all the shakes (~43% of the energy from fats).

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Verdict

In this Bertrand review, I have come to appreciate the lower cost that Bertrand provides for their organic shakes. This is a big challenge that the customer appreciates. However, the macronutrient profile might put many off. I would recommend Bertrand if you care about the ingredients being organic and do not want to pay premium for it.

Other Alternatives

If you are in Europe you have few other brands with organic products: Ambronite (mostly organic), and Vitaline. In the US, you can purchase Ambronite, Orgain, Ample or Ka’chava.